Gen 3:1: the serpent, "more crafty"
Says Gen 3:1 opens וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם, "and the serpent was crafty," מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה, "more than any beast of the field," אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, "that the Lord God had made." BDB glosses the noun "serpent" and the adjective "crafty, shrewd, sensible." The adjective has a good sense in Proverbs: Prov 12:16 ends עָרוּם ("a prudent man," BSB) and 12:23 opens אָדָם עָרוּם ("A shrewd man"). In Job 5:12 עֲרוּמִים are "the crafty." The BSB's "more crafty" is one choice. The word sounds like עֲרוּמִּים, "naked," in 2:25 (see note.language.Gen.2.25.naked-not-ashamed). Swete, who numbers this sentence 3:1b, has φρονιμώτατος.
Says Gen 3 names a serpent, one of the creatures God made, which speaks and is sentenced as an animal (3:14). Rev 12:9 and 20:2 identify "the ancient serpent" as the devil and Satan; that is what Revelation says (see note.cross-reference.Gen.3.1-Gen.3.24.nt-echoes-form).
Uncertain How Genesis presents the serpent. (1) A real serpent used by Satan; grounds: the creature language with the later identification. Objection: Gen 3 names no other speaker. Holders: Augustine, Calvin, Keil. (2) A symbolic figure for evil in serpent form; grounds: serpent imagery such as Isa 27:1, לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ ("Leviathan the fleeing serpent"). Objection: 3:1 calls it a beast God made. Holder: Philo, for whom it symbolizes pleasure. (3) A creature only in Genesis, with the identification coming later. Objection: an animal that speaks and contradicts God. Holders: Jubilees, Josephus. No lean is taken here. See note.historical.Gen.3.1-Gen.3.15.serpent-early-interpretation.
Claims
- Saysוְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם (BDB "serpent"; "crafty, shrewd, sensible"); one of the beasts God made; the adjective good in Prov 12:16, 23, bad in Job 5:12; sound-link to 2:25; Swete 3:1b φρονιμώτατος.
- SaysGen 3 names a serpent, a creature sentenced as an animal; Rev 12:9; 20:2 identify the ancient serpent as the devil and Satan.
- UncertainA real serpent used by Satan (Augustine, Calvin, Keil), a symbolic figure (Isa 27:1; Philo), or a creature only in Genesis (Jubilees, Josephus); objections; no lean.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 3:1 (WLC/OSHB; morph HC/Td/Ncmsa, HAamsa)
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Prov 12:16, 23; Job 5:12; Isa 27:1 (WLC/OSHB)
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H5175, p. 638, entry n.cu.ab; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n661
- BDB CC BY 4.0 s.v. H6175, p. 791, entry p.fn.ad; BDB 1906 page image, archive.org hebrewenglishlex00browuoft, leaf n814
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Swete 3:1b (ENG 3:1). LXX read on the Swete page image, vol. 1 (1901), p. 4 (leaf n35) (Swete numbers ENG 2:25 as 3:1a and ENG 3:1 as 3:1b).
- BSB public domain Gen 3:1; Prov 12:16, 23; Job 5:12; Isa 27:1
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Civ. 14.11, p. 272 (n295) (trans. Dods, NPNF¹ 2); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 3:1, p. 140 (n149); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain Keil, Pentateuch vol. 1 (Clark, Martin trans., 1868), on Gen 3:1, p. 93 (n96); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Philo (Yonge) public domain Opif. 157 (Yonge ch. LVI, p. 47 (n60)); read on the page image; paraphrased
- APOT public domain vol. 2 (1913): Jub 3:28, p. 17 (n36); read on the page image; paraphrased
- Josephus (Whiston) public domain Ant. 1.1.4 = 1.40–51 (Whiston, 1817, vol. 1), pp. 9–11 (n18–n20); read on the page images; paraphrased
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-10
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